VOWS AND HONOR

by Madame Bomb

Zuki Week – Day 8 (April 5th)

Prompt: RETURN TO EMBER ISLAND

Rating: T

Summary: The gang comes for a visit to Ember Island where Zuko and Suki have some unexpected news for them.

Notes: A fluffy way to end Zuki Week! Thanks for reading!

"Oh crap," Suki mumbled when she saw the large, fluffy shape in the sky above them. She wrung her hands together and glanced at Zuko standing beside her, his eyes on the clouds as well. He had paled the moment the air bison had broken cover as well. He glanced at her, swallowing.

"It's going to be okay," Zuko said softly, and he reached over, touching her hand. She immediately grabbed at his hands, her nerves overwhelming her. She held onto his hand tightly, even though she knew she should let go.

Before they saw.

Except that hadn't been the plan for little trip to Ember Island with their friends. No. The plan had been to break this gently to them. Especially to Sokka.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap..." Suki said, close to panicking.

"Breathe, babe..." Zuko said as the air bison made a beeline for the empty stretch of beach that sprawled from the cliff side where Zuko's beach house was perched to the azure blue ocean sparkling in the warm sunlight and frothing with white foam. "Things are going to be okay."

She wondered if he believed that, or if he just wanted her to. He knew how worried she was about this, how sure she was that things were about to blow up in their face in the worst way.

A part of her was slightly amazed at how calm Zuko was being right now. He was usually the more high strung of the two of them. She usually talked him down from ledges, not the other way around. She was glad he was keeping his cool right now, because she needed the rock he was giving her to lean on. Something about the certainty in his eyes helped calm her nerves, and quiet the roiling in her stomach that never really went away these days.

Appa came to a surprisingly gentle rest in the sand ten feet away, bringing with him a gust of wind and the pungent scent of bison. Suki got her first look at the people sitting in the saddle, and the Avatar, perched on Appa's head.

Her heart ached, seeing her friends again. It had been too long.

"ZUKO! SUKI!" Aang called, waving at them as he dropped the reigns. She expected him to whoosh off of Appa's head, but he turned back to his wife, offering her a helping hand down.

Katara looked beautiful, her dark hair windswept, her skin darker than usual, clearly having taken some sun on the journey. She waved at them as she took Aang's hand, and together they gusted off of the saddle and landed in front of Zuko and Suki.

"Hey," Zuko said, and then he pulled Aang into one of those back-thumping hugs that men were so great at. Katara met her eyes and grinned at her.

"Suki, I'm so glad to see you," she said and then threw her arms around her. Suki hugged her back, but there was something in the tone of Katara's voice that made her stomach flip over. She knew the woman far too well to miss that tone and what it probably meant.

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap...

"I'm glad to see you too, Katara," Suki said, patting her on the back and the pulled away. "You have no idea how much."

Or how much I need a healer right now...That is, if you don't end up hating me when we're done telling you what's going on.

"I'll bet there's someone you miss much more than me," Katara said knowingly and Suki's spirits crashed again. She wanted to wince, but her gaze went unwillingly back to two people still in Appa's saddle.

"Umm..." Suki started, as Sokka peered over the edge of the saddle, meeting her gaze for one long moment. She didn't know what to make of the expression on his face. She had always been good at reading him, but she didn't know what to think now.

She hadn't seen him since the breakup, after all. A year had passed since then.

And a lot had happened.

At least one huge thing, anyway, and she didn't know how he was going to feel about it. She didn't know how any of them were going to feel about it.

"Hey, Suki," Sokka said, dropping over the side and landing smoothly in the sand in front of her. Suki glanced at Katara and saw her grinning hopefully at her. Then Suki glanced at Zuko and saw the look on his face.

He nodded at her, his mouth a thin line. She looked at Sokka and smiled, hesitated, and then closed the distance between them. Sokka looked surprised when she hugged him, but his arms went around her just the same.

"Hey," she said softly. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too," he said just as softly, and he pulled back to look at her, cocking his head at her with a frown. "You look good. You look... You look different."

Suki frowned too. "Different how?"

Before he could reply, Toph slipped over the side of the bison's furry leg and landed in the sand like a gymnast dismounting.

"Thank the Spirits, dry land!" Toph said, wriggling her bare toes into the sand. "Oh, how I've missed you. And you too, Suki! And you, Zuko! I can feel you guys standing there!"

"I missed you too, Toph," Zuko said, letting go of Katara, whom he'd pulled into a tight hug. He hesitated in front of Sokka for a moment and then held out his hand. "And you, Sokka."

Sokka looked a little confused at Zuko's formality, but took the hand offered to him. He pulled Zuko into a thumping hug. "Yeah, man. Good to see you."

Zuko pulled back and then awkwardly met Suki's gaze. "We should head up to the house. We have lunch ready. I'm sure you guys are ready to eat after such a long journey."

"Yeah, we could do that. OR," Toph said, suddenly rooting her feet down into the sand, her arms crossing over her chest, her head cocked. And that was when Suki realized how badly she and Zuko had just messed up. "Maybe Suki could tell us who exactly knocked her up?"

All eyes turned on her. Her stomach twisted up and she put her head in her hands.

"Oh crap."

"So...uhh... Suki, it's your business. But um... We're your friends. You can tell us?" Aang asked, brows drawn up high. He seemed to be having trouble deciding on where he should be looking. He kept darting glances at her, then Zuko, and then to Sokka, who was pacing the kitchen of Zuko's beach house.

He'd been very quiet since they'd moved things into the house. Actually, he'd been very quiet on the beach too. He'd just stared at her. Suki was pretty sure that he was in shock.

"This isn't how I planned to tell you guys," Suki said tightly. "I didn't realize that Toph would blab. I didn't even realize you'd be able to tell!"

Toph had sprawled out in a chair at the table, one sand-speckled foot resting on the table, the other firmly planted on the floor. "I'm just that good."

"What she means to say is that was rude of her to spill your secret like that. That was your news to break, not hers," Katara said churlishly, pursing her lips and giving Toph a disapproving look. For once, Toph actually looked a little sheepish, as Katara's words took hold. Toph hunched her shoulders a little.

"Umm... Sorry, Suki. I guess I put my foot in it," she mumbled. "I was just taken off guard is all. I didn't expect that little heartbeat. It threw me."

"None of us expected it, Toph," Zuko said quietly.

"Did you know?" Aang asked, and something about the shrewd look in his eyes made Suki realize that Aang knew. She didn't know how, but he knew.

And he wasn't the only one. Her eyes flicked to Sokka, who spoke up before Zuko could.

"Of course he does. Zuko's the father," Sokka said in a strange voice.

Katara gasped; she seemed to be the only one to be completely taken off-guard. Toph grimaced, but somehow Suki didn't think she was surprised. Aang tensed, watching Sokka like he was about to do something. Like hit Zuko.

Zuko slowly stood up and came to stand behind Suki. He put his arms around her waist, bringing her back against him. "How did you know?"

Sokka rolled his eyes and gave a loud snort. "Come on, man. How long have we known each other? Ten years? I saw the way you looked at her. And she's been looking at you every two seconds with her heart in her eyes. It couldn't be more obvious."

"So..." Katara started, still sounding stunned. "You two are together? For how long?"

"About eight months now," Suki said, and she glanced at Sokka, still watching them like he had a fist-sized ball crammed into his throat. She didn't know what to make of him at the moment. She didn't know if he was shocked, sad, mad, or all three at once. She glanced over her shoulder at Zuko, her eyes pleading. He kissed her cheek reassuringly and then turned to the others.

"She's almost three months along."

"Didn't waste any time, did you?" Sokka said in a withering voice.

"Sokka!" Katara said in a sharp voice. "That's not helping!"

"I don't think Zuko needs my help explaining why they've been together for eight months and we're all just learning about it now. Do you, Zuko?"

"We were afraid you'd be upset," Suki said. "We didn't want to hurt you."

Sokka frowned and looked around the room. Everyone was looking at him, except Toph, who was listening, playing absentmindedly with the meteor she usually wore around her biceps. She shaped it into little statues and round balls, then intricate lotus blossoms. Her foot bounced nervously.

"I'm a big boy, Suki. We broke up. I can handle you moving on," he said with hurt in his voice. "I've been dating too. I wasn't sure how to tell you that when I got here, but I was going to. I wish you'd told me that you two were together, that's all."

"We were going to tell you over dinner, but Toph kind of ruined it."

"Sorry," she mumbled, and she actually sounded contrite. Sokka reached down and rubbed her shoulder.

"We wanted you guys to know. You're our best friends. All of you. And I know it's complicated, Sokka. I was afraid of what you might say, but..."

Sokka rubbed a hand down his face, and then he lowered it. He looked at Zuko, with his arms around her. "Do you love her?"

There was zero hesitation from Zuko. "With all of my heart."

"And you love him?"

"Yes," she said, smiling over her shoulder at Zuko. "I do."

Sokka took a breath and looked at the ceiling. Aang and Katara were both watching him, their body language tense, as if they didn't know what to expect out of him. Suki knew how they felt.

"Then I guess I'm happy for you, guys. I mean...you knocked her up, man. I'm gonna be honest, I didn't think you had it in you."

The tension broke immediately, as Zuko laughed. His laugh was warm and relaxed, his arms tight around her. Sokka laughed too, and then the others joined. Suki found herself smiling, her nerves fading a little as the tension in the room leaked out little by little.

She'd been terrified of what Sokka might say. She was over him, and had been long before she and Zuko had gotten together, but she really hadn't wanted to hurt him, and he so easily could have been.

"So you're pregnant?"

"Yeah," Suki said. "That's why we asked you guys to come for a visit to Ember Island. We wanted to tell you. About us, about the baby and..."

She glanced at Zuko, who landed a kiss on her cheek. "And we wanted Aang to marry us."

"I'm already married," Aang said, nonplussed. Then he hit himself on the forehead. "Wait, you mean marry you guys! Got it!" Then he paused, as the words really sank in. He leaped to his feet, his face alive with excitement and shock. "OH! You want me MARRY YOU! You're getting married!?"

"Yeah," Suki said, as Aang's happiness infected her. She could always count on the Avatar's good nature to bright things up, even when she was a ball of nerves. She stole a glance at Sokka, who looked as shocked as he'd been at hearing that she was pregnant. "We are."

"That's huge," Katara breathed. "That's... Wow, that's a lot to take in."

"What's to take in? He knocked her up and now he's got to make an honest woman out of her!" Toph piped up. Katara reached over and smacked her foot off of the table.

"Toph!"

But Zuko laughed, his voice vibrating through his chest and into Suki's back. "That's not exactly how things happened. I asked her to marry me two months ago. We just found out we're pregnant last week. A week after we invited you guys to Ember Island."

"We're pregnant, he says," Sokka mumbled, but the tone of his voice was amused, not bitter. "Spirits, I need a drink."

"So... When are you guys planning to have the wedding?" Aang asked. "And the answer is yes, I'll marry you!"

"Tomorrow?" Suki said, shooting Aang a pained smile. Aang blinked at her.

"Tomorrow?!" Katara said, getting up for the first time since collapsing into her seat in shock. "You want to get married TOMORROW?!"

"Yeah," Zuko said. "Is that too soon?"

"Zuko, you're the Fire Lord, that's... You have to have one of those big grand weddings where people have parades and people put Suki's face on napkins and sell weird porcelain dolls of the two of you and then every bell in the Fire Nation rings to celebrate the marriage! Or something!" Aang said.

But Zuko laughed. "We're going to have the big state wedding in two months, but we decided we wanted to get married before that. We just want our friends with us for the real wedding. The Fire Nation owns almost every part of my life and I'm happy to give it, but this...this is something I want for me. Just me and Suki. And you guys."

Katara looked like she was about to burst into tears. "Oh Spirits, that's romantic."

"Barf," Toph mumbled, and Suki heard Sokka snort a little in amusement.

"What about Iroh? Your parents? Shouldn't they be here too?" Aang asked, frowning.

"Uncle already knows everything. Even about the baby," Zuko said. "He volunteered to take charge of the Fire Nation while Suki and I go on a little secret honeymoon here on Ember Island. We haven't told our parents yet. After the honeymoon we're going to visit them. And of course they'll be at the state wedding, too."

"Are you guys sure about this?"

Zuko and Suki looked at one another and grinned. "We are."

Katara wiped at her eyes. "I can't believe this... And to think I was planning on getting you and Sokka back together!"

"Katara..." Sokka groaned.

"What? I didn't know!"

"We know this is sudden, but for us..." Zuko trailer off, kissing her temple. "For us this has been coming a long time."

Suki looked at her friends one by one, even Toph, who seemed amused by the whole thing. "What do you guys say?"

It was Sokka who answered. "Obviously, the answer is yes."

The wedding was simple, just an exchanging of vows on the beach at sunset the next day. Suki was barefoot, wearing a light dress covered in lotus flowers. She had flowers in her hair.

Sokka took her arm and walked her down the beach to the place the others were standing. Toph had made a sculpture instead an altar, something resembling a flower-bedecked pergola, only everything was made of sand.

As he walked her toward Zuko, he said under his breath. "Are you really happy with him?"

Suki turned her eyes on Sokka for a moment, and then brought them right back to Zuko. "I love him, Sokka. And he loves me."

Sokka kissed her on the cheek and then gently placed her hand in Zuko's when they got to the altar. He and Zuko looked at one another for a hard moment, then Zuko nodded. Sokka bowed out of the way and stood back behind Zuko.

Katara and Toph stood there behind Suki. Katara was crying prettily. Toph was picking at her ear with the tip of her pinky finger.

The ceremony didn't take long. They said their own vows, and when Aang pronounced them husband and wife, Zuko wrapped his arms around her and lifted her against him, kissing her until she was breathless. Then he scooped her up in his arms and wouldn't let her down again.

He carried her all the way back to the beach house, with the others laughing and trailing behind them. Suki only had eyes for him.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear. He smiled at her.

"I told you everything was going to be okay," he said, and then he kissed her again. She kissed him back, and her hand landed on her stomach.

She knew that he was right. Everything was perfect.

(end)